Leadership Series @ SIIB ( 12th September 2009 )

Friday, September 25, 2009

It has been said that, in the 21st century, the very nature, speed and complexity of change will change. If that is indeed the case, then so too will the nature of leadership. What made the leaders of yesterday will not make the leaders of tomorrow.

What will a 21st century leader look like?

The leader of the past was a doer. The leader of the present is a planner. And the leader of the future will be a teacher. The job of a 21st century leader will be to develop capabilities, not necessarily to plan the organization’s strategic direction. It will be to increase the organization’s capacity to be focused, agile and resilient. It will be to create, harness and leverage intellectual capital rather than to deploy other assets. This kind of leader doesn’t need to know everything there is to know (because that is a practical impossibility). On the contrary, these leaders will want to be surrounded by people who know a whole lot more than they do but who will trust them implicitly to weigh their competing claims and advice.

Learn to lead.

To be a leader, you have to think like a leader. To understand this basic premise of leadership, you need to agree with two fundamental principles:

1. Successful people think differently than unsuccessful people.

2. We can change the way we think.

In what way do leaders think differently? Leaders are big-picture (not narrow) thinkers. They search for wisdom moreso than answers. They are focussed (not scattered) in their thinking. They are creative (not restrictive) thinkers, driven by an insatiable curiosity for discovery and innovation. They are realistic and strategic thinkers. They are possibility thinkers, reflective thinkers. And they understand the value of shared, unselfish thought.

What other skills do 21st century leaders require?

Leaders simplify. Peter Drucker said that "If it is not simple, it won't work" The key to organizational success lies in focus. And this cannot be achieved without clarity. With clarity, borne of simplicity, comes understanding. With understanding comes focus – knowing what’s important among all the distractions, disagreements and myriad choices available. With the right kind of focus comes the right kinds of decisions and actions – the right judgements and behaviours that drive the organization to accomplish great things and thereby realize its vision. Leaders must find the simple, compelling phrases that make sometimes complex but empowering notions understandable by those who must "carry the ball."

Is leadership a matter of character?

Heraclitus, an ancient Greek historian, has told us that “A man’s character is his fate.” It is a simple but profound truth. The essence of a leader’s character is his integrity, his curiosity, his credibility, and his daring. On this foundation, he must have a guiding vision, without which a leader doesn't know what he wants to do with his talent and thus where he wants to go.

Leadership is a spirit that spawns in every soul that has faith in conquering the unknown frontiers. It is not necessary that a leader would always have a team to lead, to coordinate to achieve a set target. To me leadership is an instinct which compels one to go on the front step and hit confidently a swinging ball through the meat of the bat for a racing boundary. Instinct is the innate talent that causes a living being to respond reflexively to a given stimulus in a certain way. Many say leadership can't be taught nor can natural timing.

Its like falling in love. One can't plan or prepare to go for it. Its the collection of basic instincts that pushes her to take control of adverse situations...which makes her see an opportunity where there are none. Some dare to think beyond whats right & whats wrong, whats acceptable & whats unacceptable. It was only when man dared, he could fly high, he could walk... Only when we dare, we can think on new lines. Only then can one see solutions where others see problems. It is exactly when one switches his focus for direction to inside of herself instead of outside entity. Captain Jack Sparrow's compass can be looked upon as the guide when external landmarks aren't clear enough. Especially when we one finds oneself facing a fast-changing reality, the ability to maneuver the "internal frame of reference" to quickly match a new, changed reality or a new problem - tastes new success.To lead one should be able to submit also. Weaknesses may surface as fear, a lack of confidence, or even arrogance. One needs to accept them & then overcome them. Else these remain as hidden obstacles to thoughts & so to actions. Each one of us, has a continuous thought process, where we think about things happening around us, and we decide what is best for us to do to survive. If we try to introspect what we do, we find that usually we do have all the options that even the most successful people have. But what makes it different are the choices we make and the priorities we assign to them. To lead one needs to first be able to support the very thought process which identifies her in the very first place. One who is able to this is so-called a "Confident person". I would call such a person a leader also as she has been able to take control of herself and lead herself from the front.History is evident to the fact that its the worst of situations which give birth to the best of leaders, quite possibly because its when we really need one. It is quite rightly then, that one experiences a personal challenge. A person who is confident of what one thinks, can only focus on what crisis the society is facing as a whole. A leader starts to think beyond the needs of a typical human. This is the process by which we develop new ideas and learn that our existing notions are incorrect or inadequate. The Maslow's need theory possibly takes a shuffle for them. This I would say what spawns the creation of a leader. Our own thought process teaches us, to be bold in what we believe. It shows with time that it pays to stick to them, and its only then that we can someone else believe in those results. In one word, we call it determination. When we think, we give birth to a thought which is identified by two major things - the way we identify it & the extent to which we back it. As a human, we have the tendency to conform to things that bring a higher feeling of safety in us. So a thought projected by a confident person in an effective way gets our approval and so the thought grows as the number of people to support increases. Not surprising that we remember leaders by the very thoughts they stood by.Researchers have been puzzled a lot by the team of ants at work for they execute their operations with high efficiency and with high motivation. The question we face as to how can they achieve this without a leader? The way I make sense of it comes something like this... For a layman, we know there is a CPU in the computer which coordinates all the signals, processes & hardware in the computer. If we look into it a bit deeper, we come to know that each component has a processing unit of its own. Probably ants too have a little bit of leadership instinct in each one of them. When faced with a difficulty each one of them takes the initiative to solve it. Many of them come together to make possible things that very few species can be proud of on earth. So I would call it wrong to define a leader to a person who leads a team. Rather leadership is a spirit that lives in each of us. Some believe in it, rest wait for confirmation from others that they are right. One should always hold onto some quotient of responsibility for oneself and the situation one is in. Whether to ignore our “leadership instinct” - decides which side we are on.

The unvanquished warrior was confident in his strength. So, when given the option to choose between a fully equipped, belligerent army and a single unarmed man, he chose the later. All that he wanted was a driver for his chariot. How this unarmed charioteer gave guidance to the chariot and the warrior would later become a shining episode in a culture, revered by a civilization, enthralling the world for ages to come…

Arjuna knew that even the most well disposed armies can go haywire if not led ably. But much before the age of Mahabharatha, even before evolution of human race, leadership existed. Animal packs and flocks of birds stuck with their leads. The footprints left by the leader manoeuvred the followers and thus made a trail for those who come. Leaving the exception of probably ants, every living species replicates this blueprint. It's embedded in the genetic code- in a majority, to be led, and in a selected few, to lead.

What makes a leader? Why are leaders so few? Cutting through a myriad of elaborated theories and sophisticated models, Seth Godin in his latest book "Tribes" says, "Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead. The scarcity makes leadership valuable." Perusing the annals of history, we see proof of the struggles that leaders over the centuries have taken to remove thorns from the trail they leave. They stay awake for their tribe to sleep soundly. Often the portrait of a leader is of one who is smug in luxuries. But remember that any leader not having discomfort is passing it on to the multitude that looks up to him.

As the quote from the movie goes, a leader is the one who ‘got vision when the rest of the world wears bifocals’. He sees the tomorrow for his followers and enables them to achieve it. Defining the role of a leader can be tricky. He is required wherever and whenever there is lack of clarity. He may be omnipresent or barely visible. As Lao Tzu noted, “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”

It’s interesting to see how Krishna concluded his magnificent discourse which we now call “Bhagavath Geetha”. He tells Arjuna, "Vimarsedath asheshena Yadhechhasi Thadha Kurum"- Fully ponder over what I said and do as you like. A leader, therefore, never spoon feeds. He keeps the options open for his followers; he lets them apply their minds. He should never tell how to do but just what to do.

A leader may start by making the masses believe in him. But his ultimate aim should be in making them believe in themselves. And this happens by giving away power. By giving away power, a leader gains the respect. Thus a leader should be judged not by the number of followers, but by number of leaders he has given rise to.

In the age of motivational speakers and self-help books, it would seem but natural when phrases like “decisive leadership”, “walking the talk”, “visionary leadership”, “seven habits of highly successful people” pervade our conversations .And not just in academic courses like MBA where leadership styles will be examined in great depth, these phrases will find a welcoming home even in informal chats .Is this truly the Age of Every Man is a Leader? Did Alice finally figure out all the philosophical challenges put forth in the Wonderland, emerge unscathed and ready to take the boardroom by storm? Does every person who speaks marketing glib talk have it in her to take the Fortune 500 company in crisis to greater heights? Let us walk on the path of examining this phenomenon of the leader being one from a million to now a concept where the leadership skills have become talking points for the masses.

The early leader was a military genius: he could lead a battalion under testing conditions and bring greater glory to the king. The king was of course a “natural” leader: the DNA route for leadership was, it seems; forever fixed. The nobility was looked forward to for leader-like qualities: noblesse oblige (“with wealth, power and prestige come responsibilities”), if you please. Royal poets wrote of battles and dilemmas facing the kings and queens: leadership was far away there away from the dusty plains and the plows, the stars of “decisive leadership” and “walking the talk” was left to the likes of Marcus Aurelius and Chandragupta Maurya.

Enter democracy and Industrial Revolution .While the explorer from older days who went to faraway lands to correct fallacies of earth being flat (only for 21st century to prove the geographically corrected notion into a digitally incorrect one) facing great challenges being heralded as a leader of sorts :nothing gave leadership skills being a mass-product available for review and practice than Industrial Revolution .Professional managers were called for , snap decisions called for and increasingly leadership skills passed on from what the royalty embodied to what the balance sheet champions said in their memoirs and answers to what journalists asked as “Kind sir, what is the secret of your success?” for the consumption of curious millions via newspapers and magazines.

Politicians, long battling a negative image did manage once in a while; by virtue of superior legislation (or PR skills) to enter the Leaders Hall of Fame. Spiritual leaders offered a whole different dimension and who re-defined success in far more holistic ways than mere success in a crisis situation or ability to gather monetary resources using least furrowing of the brow or expenditure of sweat.

Yes, the Age of every man as an aspiring Leader is here, and the footnote to this part of history will surely find a writer some more years down the line.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Leadership Series 2009 this was the first year when the 'Sarvashshreshtha Award' was conferred upon to an SIIB alumni who with his achievements in his own professional field has done the SIIB family proud.

The winner of the inaugural award, Abhijeet Ranade has over 14 years of global experience and is currently an Associate Director of Consulting with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr. Ranade belongs to the first batch of SIIB and started his speech on a humorous note by going down memory lane and recounting his student days at SIIB.

On the topic of benchmarks of leadership, he stated how leadership need not be restricted only to business and can take form even in our day to day lives. Mr. Ranade pointed out examples from his personal life and mentioned the roles of his mother and wife and how the have exhibited the qualities of leadership time and again.

Mr. Ranade also touched upon how we should not let the fear of failure deter us from reaching for our dreams and thinking big. He also encouraged students to embark on journeys and more importantly to constantly learn from new people and experiences. He wisely remarked how we should never think that we have arrived since that ends up being counter productive and makes one complacent.

He also suggested that students learn the distinction between being a manager and being a leader and encouraged them to strive for excellence in all walks of life. Before ending his speech, he also pointed how important it is to have a sense of humour in life.

As an escort Mr Pandit’s humility and pleasant demeanour immediately put my apprehensions to rest . It just sunk in that even a group CEO with a staggering three decade experience is after all a normal human being with mannerism which would put any high flying student to shame. Mr Pandit started with the point that our theme of leadership and entrepreneurship was apt and perfect for economic scenarios we are in .This is the perfect time for students like us to explore the area of entrepreneurship .This he validated by emphasising on the fact that we now have an open economy after the 1991 liberalisation and it is much easier to execute our plans which was extremely difficult 20 years back. He further focused on innovation and entrepreneurship in the field of technology .Giving examples of innovations like apple iphone and the product of Amazon Kindle which as an ebook is changing the format of reading on paper. These innovations have taken these companies forward and strengthened their positions in the market. Hence such incremental innovations are essential in today’s immense competition. Thereby he said that we have opportunities to become entrepreneurs in the technology sector. Taking a leaf from Dr Gupte’s speech he reiterated the point that entrepreneurship can also be in the form of intrapreneurship in any company. It is not possible for all to start a venture on their own .Hence as an employee we need to find make innovations and generate ideas for the project we are working in. He gave the example of employees in KPIT Cummins who innovate solutions and processes that benefit their clients thereby fulfilling the entrepreneurial spirit from within a company. He further talked why India is a perfect destination for an entrepreneur , enlightening us with his concept of three D’s. Demography , Democracy , Diversity. India demography consisting of a huge middle class is the driver for various businesses. This class along with its ambition to grow and use the fruits of purchasing power always allows products to be accepted .Democracy allows every Indian to function and plan on freely within legitimacy, without the biases of religion. Further , he talked of our vast diversity enables us for many more business opportunities as ideas from one region could be sold in another. Our diversity also makes an Indian consumer to more open to new products and items. Lastly Mr Pandit threw light on going green by companies .Hence innovation in this aspect are essential for ensuring a safer Earth .The innovations on hybrid cars using electricity could be the future of automotive industry. Urging us to adhere to green concepts and innovations as we will part of businesses. Mr Pandit ended his beautiful speech thanking all dignitaries and urged us students to take up the future with responsibility and curiosity .The spirit of entrepreneurship will make us leaders may be as a company owners or even as normal employees . It was memorable and enlightening experience to escort Mr Ravi Pandit and also listen to his beautiful and apt speech.

The man with numerous awards including Art Director of the Year Award twice at the Advertising and Marketing national awards, Ravi Deshpande, started his speech with a theory based on the belief that unboxed ideas reverse the ageing process of brands making them younger and more desirable. He explained that we today live in boxes, work in boxes and sleep in the night with a belief that we have worked very hard today. He focused on thinking out of the boxes to become creative in one’s life.He encouraged us to get inspired by all different means that come through our life. Each source of inspiration that he suggested was shown through multiple ads. The first source of getting inspired is by leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill and Steve Jobs etc. It was all shown in an inspiring video of all the world’s great leaders. Next source is by ordinary people. These days, many big brands use ordinary people for their advertising which has now become a creative thinking approach in the field of advertisements. The other part of his speech included how the current advertising industry uses the inspiration by wildlife and children. He explained that movies, music and surroundings have great impact in today’s advertising world. The different videos shown consist of all different advertising appeals including humour appeal, emotions appeal and sex appeal. While some ads were related to be getting inspired by the history the others were by the current technology.Overall, his whole speech was focused on the importance of creativity and out of the box thinking in advertising world. The one hour he spoke was indeed a great inspiring and learning session for all of us and the people enjoyed themselves watching all such humorous and creative ads.